Lancaster City Council has vowed to protect vital frontline services despite facing a £4.2m black hole in its finances.
The city council has published draft plans which it says will "deliver a balanced budget while protecting essential frontline services in the next financial year while also supporting residents and businesses through the cost of living crisis".
The council said that a recruitment freeze, consolidation of office space, and a senior leadership restructure to cut management costs at the council has already been carried out to save money.
But "significant savings" are still needed to close the budget gap, it says.
Some of the main services provided by Lancaster City Council include collecting bins, recycling and cleaning the streets in the Lancaster and Morecambe district.
Savings of £2.4m are proposed in 2023/24, with a contribution from the council’s reserves, increased income and other changes making up the difference.
A basic council tax increase of 2.99 per cent, an average of £7.23 a year for a Band D property, is also proposed.
Unless action is taken the council will be left with an estimated £4.2million black hole in its finances for 2023/24.
Longer term, the council is facing a potential deficit of £3.4 million in 2024/25, which could reach £7 million by 2026.
Councillor Anne Whitehead (pictured), cabinet member with responsibility for finance, said: “These are difficult times for us all and the council’s finances are in a perilous situation.
"Spiralling inflation and years of Government underfunding all mean that we are not making enough income to cover our everyday expenses.
“Our budget proposals look to stabilise our financial position, whilst continuing to provide essential services to our local communities. Part of this means having to increase council tax, which for the average Band D home will be around 14p a week.
“We’ve also guaranteed that those on the lowest incomes will continue to receive 100% council tax support, which many other local authorities are considering as it not only provides support through the cost of living crisis, but also avoids expensive legal fees in recovering unpaid tax.
“We also have a longer-term plan in place for how we will deliver the further savings we will need to make over the next few years. There are many discussions to be had but the reality is that we will not be able to provide all our services at the current level, so we all need to prepare ourselves for some tough decisions.”
On Tuesday (January 17) the council’s cabinet discussed initial proposals for tackling the deficit.
The savings proposals have been prepared following a public survey with residents and businesses, which saw 546 responses and there will be further opportunities for people to have their say.
The council’s Budget and Performance Panel will consider the proposals at its meeting on February 1 at Morecambe Town Hall, starting at 6pm, and everyone is invited to attend.
An online public briefing has also been arranged for Thursday January 19 at 6pm to provide more information on the financial challenges faced by the council and how it intends to tackle them. You can register here.
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